Read the full article by Alasdair MacEwen in Business Green The French legislature has just passed into law the "energy transition for green growth" Bill. Ecology minister Ségolène Royal describes it as "the most advanced and ambitious piece of environmental legislation in Europe, and probably the world" – this is, perhaps, an exaggeration - but it could still end up as one of France’s most significant Bills in decades. And it has put Royal in the spotlight ahead of December's COP21 meeting in Paris. The law, in development for almost three years, brings in binding energy targets for transport, housing and renewable energy. A striking last minute amendment was cross-party agreement to increase the duty on the carbon content of fuels (known in France as la taxecarbone) from €14.5 to €100 per tonne of CO2 by 2030, although this still needs ratification in the annual budget.